Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride – 05

Man, that was Dumb (note capital D). Usually I don’t mind a beach episode. It doesn’t even have to be that good. But in a show where they already wear meido costumes with small bandeaus and find plenty of excuses to be completely topless, is there really a need for a beach episode? Especially a beach episode that was entirely a rigged contest to pit the Dark Samurai against the Yagyuu Dojo girls? I can’t think of one. Maybe if it had been clever or funny, it would have been worth it, but it didn’t strike me as either.

Juubei’s angry about this episode, too.

And really all we got was a swimsuit full of fanservice. And while that’s not bad for MetaFap, after last week’s episode, I was hoping that the plot had gotten a good start and we were going to get into the story. No dice on that, for sure. The only things that happened plot-wise were that we learned that Yoshihiko is out of the country, and that there’s a time limit for Yagyuu Juubei to regain her power. She seems to be showing how to do that, tho, as when Muneakira was hurt, Juubei responded with anger and strength. I guess we can only hope that next week is back to some semblance of a story.

Hanzou makes it a little better

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Photo Kano – 05

Well, this episode was unexpected and yet very welcome. From introducing us to all the girls, this episode switched to be pretty much exclusively about Niimi Haruka, the girl who has been the main object of Kazuya’s, and the Shashin-bu’s, thoughts. The show also changed style a bit, giving the impression that more time is passing and that Haruka and Kazuya have been spending a lot of time together, walking home together, and other things that couples do in anime.

But it’s not all good, because while everyone else in the school sees that they’re spending a lot of time together, there are some who think Haruka’s way outside of Kazuya’s league, including Kazuya. Even worse, we can infer what caused the separation between the two of them before – exactly the same thing. Haruka’s been sweet on Kazuya for a long time, but he’s pushed her away at least once before because he didn’t think he was good enough for her. So when he doesn’t get jealous about the soccer ace hitting on her, even seeming trying to push them together, Haruka gets mad and runs away.

Everyone pitches in to help.

The truly interesting thing about the friction between Kazuya and Haruka is who steps up to try to get them back together: almost everyone. Takashi, Itta, Uchida, Kudou, and especially Katsumi, Nonoka, and Kanon. And after this full-court press, it certainly looks like Haruka is ready to give Kazuya another chance, but that will have to wait until next week.

With 8 episodes left including this one, it looks like we might be getting 4 different ‘endings’, like Amagami SS or Yosuga no Sora (assuming 2 episode wrap ups each). I’m all in favor of this, but I wonder who the other three girls are going to be? I think Aki’s a slam dunk, and I’d say Nonoka and Mai as the other two, but that would make three sports girls, plus Aki the former diver? That’s a little too similar I think. Who do you think it’s going to be? And who would you WANT it to be?

So now we know what Tsukushi’s deal is: she’s just an awkward siscon. One that’s seriously deluded, based on her dreams of going to Massachusetts where… it’d still be illegal for her to marry her own sister. I’m glad the author decided to avoid name dropping MIT or Harvard and opted to go with the less famous but much easier-to-enter University of Massachusetts. Given Tsukushi’s apparent level of intelligence, elite colleges are way out of her league anyway. The identical twin imposter lie is such a cliche by this point that it’s more notable when someone does fall for it. Yeah, she’s a special type of idiot.

The story has certainly gotten more complicated than I had expected. When given the chance to get back her expressions, Tsukiko decided instead to gift it to her older sister, which returns her efforts back to step 1. We’ve yet to see how this will manifest on Tsukushi; hopefully it’ll be as funny as the crap Youto was pulling in the first episode. Youto himself got a power up this episode, using the stone cat again, this time to wish to let him stop running away from his fears. Perhaps that’s a more refined version of his original wish to lose his facade, more precisely targeting his real problem of not being able to honestly express his perversions. Unfortunately, that’s probably going to do little to help his current predicament of having his house disappear off the face of the Earth, which I’m looking forward to seeing play out next episode.

Considering that the little sister is the single sexiest thing in the universe according to anime, how much longer can Youto stay aloof?

20 Responses to “MetaFap – 41 [NSFW]”

Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride – 05: Not that the fanservice and hijinks aren’t bad but I’m starting lower my expectations of this series because of the lack plot development which is saddening compared to last season which had both fanservice (though censored by black ink blots) and a strong story going at the same pace. And I might have enjoyed this to some degree if Kanetsugu wasn’t flaunting around aimlessly and ruining the mood. Airheaded and useless doesn’t do it for me. Sorry.

The hope for any improvement came from the match between Juubei and Musashi. After that sudden burst of energy, I’m getting more and more into the idea that Juubei’s power is sealed away.

Yeah, Kanetsugu in particular seems to have completely forgotten any reason that she is around. Yes, being the morality police was frustrating to all of us, but it was an interesting niche for her to be in. Now she’s just “I’m not wearing any clothes!”

I really did think that last week’s episode was a large step in the right direction. This one was just not.

Kanetsugu aside. There were some awesome looking swimsuits on the girls during the competition. Even the dark samurais went all out with their swimwear that I had trouble determining a favorite. This episode would have gone great side by side with the 13th episode of Dakara Boku wa H ga Dekinai that was released a couple of weeks ago. And speaking of 13th episodes, the one for Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate is out now.

Photo Kano – 05: I can always give a pass to an episode like this if it serves to create development of any kind and it did just that. These students don’t realize how hurtful their rumor spreading is until someone takes it the wrong way. Maybe they’d quiet down if they got a taste of their own medicine every once in a while. From the looks of it, Haruka has the best chance of getting Kazuya and Mai has second place in that competition.

Samurai Cliches: I would, charitably, give this Breather Episode status. However, one should not get one’s breath recaptured this early, nor should one need to regain one’s composure so deep inside the Trope Dump. And the writers just gave up on doing anything more with Kanetsugu. They gave us a monkey. We like monkeys.

If I was going to give them credit for even thinking about it, I’d say they’re trying to go to the well of “Haha, isn’t it funny to put Kanetsugu in this position after her background? Isn’ it? Eh? Eh?” But I don’t even think it’s that. I think they just turned Kanetsugu and Sasuke into *more* comic relief characters than they were before.

Yeah, we don’t need a ‘breather’ episode when a) no actual story arc has actually happened and b) the show’s already spent so much time unseriously.

Henneko: I like how the series is progressing. Neither Tsukiko nor Youto can express how they feel to each other. Azusa can’t say how she feels towards either one, and once you get her started the Steel King won’t shut up about it. Everyone needs to lose their pantsu, and Tsukushi needs a triple layer.

How does one wish one’s house away, no matter how round-a-bout it might turn out?

…and how did Tsukushi not know she created a wish granting statue….how?

The Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat – 04: Cosplay from Tsukiko! The HHGGGNN levels are so high they’re almost fatal. If I had to make a choice on which costume I like better, it would be pretty obvious.

I can’t believe Tsukushi fell for Youto’s obvious and crude “twin brother” lie. How gullible! C’mon, hasn’t she spent enough time around him to at least know if he has a sibling or not? And if he did, they’d most likely be attending in the same school together and possibly in the same class.

Tsukushi’s reasoning for severing her ties with Tsukiko was so absurd that I couldn’t help but laugh at her. Seriously, that would be a combination of yuri and incest in one fell swoop. She sure isn’t passionate in morality as she is on the track.

Youto lost his house. This must be some sort of Equivalent Exchange. What could a person gain if he had to give up his own house?

Samurai Bride: I’ve already mentioned this to Highway, but a bad OVA episode sneaks its way into the anime, and at a predictably meh time when it seems like pieces are being formed toward progressing the actual story. I did think the picture with Matabei tying herself down was real funny.